European shares dip

Paris - European stocks reversed early gains and dipped on Monday morning, adding to the previous session's losses, with Germany's Wincor Nixdorf sinking after it slashed its sales forecast.

Blaming unfavourable developments in key emerging markets, the provider of hardware and software for banks and retailers said it expects flat full year sales, sending its stock down as much as 11 percent to its lowest level in more than a year and a half.

Ryanair bucked the trend, surging 5 percent after Europe's biggest budget airline lifted its outlook following a sharp rise in quarterly net income, coming in the wake of profit warnings by rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.

France's Danone was also among the top gainers, up 1.9 percent following a report saying that the food and beverage major is in talks to sell its medical nutrition business to US group Hospira in a deal valuing the unit at about $5 billion, or 3.7 billion euros.

“In the past, the price mentioned was 3 billion euros, so this 3.7 billion euro tag is a better price,” a Paris-based trader said.

At 10:18 SA time, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,371.37 points, while the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was down 0.03 percent at 3,174.16 points.

The FTSEurofirst 300 lost 0.7 percent on Friday, hurt by lower-than-expected results from luxury goods maker LVMH, data showing German business sentiment dropping to its lowest level in nine months in July, as well as violence in Ukraine and Gaza.

“Tensions in Ukraine and Middle East, recent nasty surprises in the earnings season... There's just a lack of visibility at the moment which is prompting investors to just stay on the sidelines,” Talence Gestion fund manager Alexandre Le Drogoff said.

Investors' mood was helped, however, by data showing a sharp rise in profits earned by Chinese industrial firms, up 17.9 percent in June from a year earlier, fuelling expectations that the China's economy is powering through its recent soft patch as the government uses targeted stimulus measures to support growth.